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Monthly Archives: November 2016

Property bordering
Poulsbo’s Home
Depot offers some of the best views in the city, with Liberty
Bay and Mount Rainier visible on clear days.

The hilltop site would provide a
dramatic setting for a hotel, which, it turns out, is
just what a Seattle hospitality company has planned there.

Hotel
Concepts is moving ahead with plans for a 110-room
hotel on 5 acres in College Marketplace, according to
representatives of real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.

Agent Brian Mayer said Hotel Concepts is in the process of
selecting an architect and franchise for the project, and plans to
move ahead rapidly with permitting. The Poulsbo site offers
easy access to Highways 3 and 305, and is situated near to major
retailers and an Olympic College branch:

Hotel Concepts recently purchased
more than 60 acres in the College Marketplace master plan
area. Land outside of the hotel site is being offered for sale
by Marcus & Millichap. The available
property includes a mix of parcels zoned for business
park, commercial and residential use.

More jobs are available in Kitsap this fall than in
previous years, according to the state Employment Security
Department.

But a growing labor force has contributed to a higher
unemployment rate in the county.

Jobs in Kitsap

A preliminary
estimate showed 89,600 non-farm jobs in Kitsap in October, an
increase of 900 from October 2015.

Of the new jobs, 700 were created in the government sector while
200 were added in the private sector.

The state has consistently reported more jobs in Kistap this
year than in 2015, and significantly more jobs than in 2014.
There were about 2,600 more jobs in the county in
October 2016 than in October 2014.

Employment/unemployment

Nearly 111,500 Kitsap residents were employed in October,
according to Employment Security, marking an increase of 1,460 from
October of last year.

The county’s labor force — the total number of people working or
seeking work — grew by more than 2,400 over the same period,
topping 118,300 in October.

Growth in the labor force has contributed to a higher
unemployment rate in the county this year compared with
2015.

For statistical purposes, people are only counted as
“unemployed” if they are actively seeking work. So as more people
join the labor force and look for work, it can cause the
unemployment rate to rise.

That appears to be the case in Kitsap, where the unemployment
rate rose from 5.1 percent in October of 2015 to 5.8 percent in
October of 2016, despite more residents becoming employed.

According to port CEO Jim Rothlin, the commission is
weighing a $4.5 million offer from development firm Sound West Group to purchase
the Washington Avenue property. By law, the port can’t sell
the land for less than fair market value.

Sound West partner Mike Brown told me the firm is interested in
creating a mixed-use development on the 2-acre site.

The port bought the land from Kitsap Consolidated Housing
Authority in 2009 for $3.5 million to provide parking for the
marina. The district put
the property on the market last year with an asking price
of $5 million.

Port CEO Jim Rothlin said the goal of the sale would be to pay
off the debt from the purchase while still maintaining parking
for boaters.

“At the time of the purchase the port’s intent was
always to see development occur there at some point that would help
increase growth and economic development for the community,”
Rothlin said prior to a Nov. 8 public hearing on the potential
sale.

“But the priority was really to make sure we secured
parking for the marina and were able to pay off debt on that
property as well.”

South Kitsap resident Roger Gay was the only member of the
public to offer comment. He urged commissioners to be upfront with
the public about the process and the potential impact
development of the property might have on the marina.

“You need to have those answers no ahead of time as
much as possible,” Gay said.

Port commissioners vowed to only agree to a sale if
parking for the marina was preserved.

The commission will review a purchase and sale
agreement for the property at its regular meeting, scheduled for 6
p.m. Tuesday at
Bremerton National Airport. Approval of the port’s 2017 budget
also is on
the agenda.

The businesses will set up shop in
a 28,000-square-foot commercial facility planned by the
Crabtree and Ryan families on Eighth Avenue.

The building is expected to open in the fall of 2017, according
to a news release.

Click to enlarge

ChocMo and High Spirits will be joined in the facility by a
180-seat restaurant called Crabtree kitchen + bar and a shared
workspace center called Vibe Coworks.

The move will allow High Spirits to grow from 4,000 to
10,000 square feet.The store will add a growler-filling station,
“beer cave,” and wine cellar, and plans to host classes and
tastings.

A delivery service is being considered, according to the
release.

ChocMo, which began as a chocolate shop in 2005, will
offer breakfast, lunch, espresso and chocolate drinks. With
added space to work in, ChocMo staff will start making
chocolate from raw cocao beans.

Upstairs, Crabtree kitchen + bar will focus on connecting
diners with locally-grown food, including fruits and vegetables
cultivated onsite. Beef for the restaurant will be raised at the
family’s Silver Creek
Angus farm in Kingston, which currently supplies ChocMo.